One specific moment I found useful while reading Bunn’s essay ” How to Read Like a Writer” and I would like to use myself as a reader is understanding historical context before reading a text. Understanding the who, what, where, when, and why an author wrote a piece of literature give reading what they wrote a more in depth feel. Reading the essay Bunn was speaking to former students and getting their insights on what advice they would give college students on how to read like writers. In the essay this quote stood out to me “Jamie, suggests that students “learn about the historical context of the writings” they will read for class.
Writing professor Richard Straub puts it this way: “You’re not going to
just read a text. You’re going to read a text within a certain context, a
set of circumstances . . . It’s one kind of writing or another, designed
for one audience and purpose or another” (138).” Understanding the context of the essay appealed to me because I write for reasons other than when I write myself. Not because I decided to start putting thoughts into words for no apparent reason, but because I felt compelled to do so. Whether it’s because I need to get something off my chest or because I have an assignment and I need to understand the context of what I’m writing about in order to make a solid argument or start a discussion. Every type of writing has a historical circumstance that influenced the author’s decision to write. I would like to more understand the historical context of writers before reading and implement that into my own reading and writings.